Even though it’s PG-13, leave them at home or girls will never trust men…. even the good ones.

Date Movie:

Only if you want her to wonder when you are going to snap.

Gratuitous Sex:

It would have been better if J.Lo got naked. She did wear some skimpy tops, though.

Gratuitous Violence:

Slim gets slapped a few times, but then she beats the shit out of Mitch.

Action:

Not really action.

Laughs:

I almost laughed while waiting for the “Theme from Rocky” when Slim was doing her self-defense training.

Memorable Scene:

Nothing really stood out.

Memorable Quote:

Mitch’s mom, upon seeing Slim’s bruises: “What did you do?”

Directed By:

Michael Apted

This is what I wrote as my preview for “Enough”, with just information from the trailers…

——-
This movie reminds me of that Julia Roberts’ movie where her husband won’t give up finding her, except in this one the main dudette has a daughter.
Yea, Slim (Jennifer Lopez) marries a wealthy dude, Mitch (Billy Campbell). All is well until, well, he starts to abuse her. She runs, he finds her, and she realizes that if she doesn’t fight back, well, then, her days are numbered in the wrong direction.

The story has been done before, but it looks like the film-people are adding a few twists and turns. If they give me the bad ending, well, I’ll like this film more, but I’m guessing this one will give us the ending we expect. Films in the real world excite me more, like when things don’t work out like a fairy-tale, but most of the other public wants the fairy-tale. I’m guessing Slim kills Mitch and they all live happily ever after. I hope not. For me it will be a better movie if it is on the sad route.

J. Lo is usually pretty decent, so is Billy Campbell, but this has all the looking’s of a cookie-cutter ending. If not I’ll spoil it and let you know.
——–
Sorry if I ruin this movie for you, and please don’t tell me you didn’t think it would end the way it does, but for the most part I was right on every count. For a few more details, simply, Mitch ends up meeting Slim in the diner she works at, they end up getting married, and about 4 years later Slim realizes Mitch is cheating on her. She can’t take it anymore, he says, basically, “Too bad,” and smacks her around. She ends up taking off with their kid.

The problem is that Slim is stupid and Mitch has connections, so, yea, Mitch finds her. On the run again, and with her estranged father now involved, Slim realizes she has only one chance at happiness and that is if she gets rid of Mitch. Go ahead, use your knowledge of foreshadowing and figure out exactly how Mitch will meet his demise. Can someone tell writers and directors to not give away the ending before the ending?

Anyway, if you’re looking for a generic, cookie-cutter thriller with a couple of interesting twists and turns, “Enough” isn’t bad and does its job. Lopez is good as Slim, the mother just wanting a loving family life and doing anything to keep her daughter safe, and you will despise Mitch which means Billy Campbell does his job as well. You will also get to see an evil side to Noah Wyle, a far cry from the more goody-two-shoes Doctor Carter on E.R., in some, not really cameos, but some supporting action. For me, though, and sure no one would probably want to see the movie, I’d have preferred Slim getting screwed in the end because she didn’t do the right thing first, and that would have been to tell the cops and head for a woman’s shelter. As the lawyer tells her, she’s basically fucked in the courts because she ran for the hills.

Call me twisted, and I know it wouldn’t be popular, but it would prove a better drama if Slim gets screwed. In the end it wouldn’t be what you probably want, and that is for Slim to win. You get what you want.

For me “Enough” was a 1 ½ star movie, but from listening to most of the people leaving it was more like 3 ½ stars (I heard a lot of things like “That wasn’t bad.”). I’ll average them together and give “Enough” 2 ½ stars out of 5.

Nah, being young they might get the wrong idea of The Darwin Awards and think they should win one.

Date Movie:

It’s a nice movie to cuddle on the couch and screen-talk about how stupid people can be.

Gratuitous Sex:

There’s some sex and some nudity. Nice.

Gratuitous Violence:

Just seeing how people are stupid.

Action:

Nope.

Laughs:

There’s some laughs and chuckles.

Memorable Scene:

The “being safe in the shower” scene.

Memorable Quote:

Nah.

Directed By:

Finn Taylor

DVD REVIEW – Add Cool Things
Someone mentioned to me that they saw the DVD “The Darwin Awards” in the rental store and wondered if I saw it. I told them I hadn’t, but then saw it on my own and decided, “What the hell, let’s see if this movie sucks.” It didn’t suck, but I can also see why it never made it to the big screen, but maybe the film folks should have at least given it a chance. Here’s the story…

Most of you know the story of The Darwin Awards. These are awards given every year to people who die in ways that are pretty stupid when you think about it, or find themselves unable to reproduce. It’s also a reference to “survival of the fittest” signifying that maybe humanity will thrive just a little bit more by losing these morons early. Anyway, in the movie “The Darwin Awards” we get Joseph Fiennes as Michael Burrows. He’s a police investigator in San Francisco being taped for a documentary. He’s also hemophobic (he faints at the site of blood). And he’s also obsessed with those who die or get injured in a “Darwin Award” manner. He’s hot on the trail of a serial killer but sadly the sight of blood causes him to faint and the bad guy gets away. Disgraced and booted from the force, Michael thinks he might find his next calling, working for an insurance company in determining high risk cases for them, or claims to deny based on the fact that the facts aren’t always what they seem, and now he is paired with Siri (Winona Ryder), traveling the highways and byways of the country debunking some insurance claims that on the surface seem open and shut.

So Michael and Siri find a dude crushed by a vending machine, a dude claiming someone stole his car, a missing dude (and car) who just wanted to go fast and be on TV, and all the while Michael is still obsessed with finding the serial killer he let get away. And, oh yea, he falls for Siri (but who wouldn’t?).

I really wanted to like this movie, and as a DVD rental it’s good enough for a rental, but the problem is that since we know what The Darwin Awards are, every time Michael and Siri get to a new town to investigate an insurance loss, well, the ending of the loss is really no surprise. It’s pretty obvious why the dude reported his truck stolen, most people will be able to figure out the demise of the stoner dude at the Metallica concert before it happens, the vending machine death is a “Duh!”, but the one adventure involving Harvey (David Arquette), who couldn’t seem to go fast enough for his wife Joleen (Juliette Lewis), where you might actually be sitting there watching the movie wondering what this bonehead did to kill himself, is ruined because the filmmakers gave it away at the opening of the movie. So much for any mystery during this movie.

In the midst of the deaths is the budding relationship between Michael and Siri, and the interruptions and non-interruptions of the documentary filmmaker constantly stating he can’t get involved. The love story is cute enough, but it is the quirkiness of Michael trying to not be a Darwin story that makes things funny during this movie.

I love Wynona Ryder, and would stalk her if she wanted me to, and she is just absolutely adorable in this movie. Joseph Fiennes was great as the quirky detective now obsessed with Darwin Award scenarios. But the underlying problem with the movie was that there weren’t any surprises.

In the end it’s 3 stars out of 5 for “The Darwin Awards.” There are a couple of funny moments in the movie intertwined with the deaths and shootings, but just please, remember, if you are going to use your gun to pull your buddy from the icy pond, make sure you unload the gun first.